1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates to analyzing and leveraging the influence and behavior of actors within an organization, particularly as it relates to understanding, preparing for and influencing an organization's decision and selecting the most effective external agents to engage the actors.
2. Related Art
Modern organizations interact extensively with independent external agents. One example of such an external agent is a consulting company that assembles a deal team to work with the organization to propose, plan, and (ideally) win and implement a project. Regardless of the role that the external agents play, there is typically extensive interaction between many external agents and many actors from the organization. The interaction continues throughout the lifetime of a deal as the external agent and the organization work all aspects of the deal toward a mutually agreeable conclusion.
In the past, little guidance was available to help determine which deal team member or other external agent should interact with or build a relationship with specific actors in the organization and the best behavior that can help do that. Choosing the wrong external agent often led to an inability to effectively communicate with the right actors who influence other organizational actors in making decisions, misunderstandings about project scope and requirements, and, ultimately, failure to close and/or complete delivery of valuable deals. Therefore, a need exists to address the problems noted above and others previously experienced.